The Elections Commission had announced that it would hold the delayed-local council elections on the 3rd of April 2021.
The President of the Commission Ahmed Shareef had confirmed this decision via Twitter. He said in a tweet that the Commission had decided to hold the postponed elections on April 3rd and that it made the decision today.
The polls were initially scheduled for last year but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parliament had amended the constitution in order to accommodate the delay and extended the terms of the current council members across the country.
The Commission's decision today is in line with its announcement earlier that it would be unable to hold the polls in March of this year.
The Commission cited that the Health Authorities in the country had extended the State of Public Health Emergency currently in place by another month and hence the Commission is unable to complete its tasks in order to pave for voting in March.
It had also hinted that the Commission is seeking to amend the law in order to hold elections as soon as possible.
The opposition had voiced concern and discontent over the Commission's decision to delay the elections.
It had said that the Government knows very well that they are going to lose in Local Council Elections and therefore is making further systematic delays via the Elections Commission and the Health Protection Agency.
